1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for processing embroidering data, a recording medium storing an embroidering data processing program, a recording medium storing embroidering data obtained according to the embroidering data processing program, and an embroidery sewing machine adapted to perform an embroidery sewing operation according to the embroidering data.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
There is known an embroidering data processing apparatus including (a) embroidering data memory for storing a batch of embroidering data for embroidering an embroidery pattern, such that a plurality of component data sets representative of respective components of the embroidery pattern are stored in a predetermined storing order, each component of the embroidery pattern consisting of at least one element which is continuously embroidered with a same thread, and (b) a sewing order determining device for determining a sewing order in which all of the elements included in the embroidery pattern consisting of the plurality of component data sets are embroidered.
As indicated above, an embroidery pattern to be formed by an embroidery sewing operation consists of a plurality of components, each of which consists of one or more elements. The embroidery pattern is embroidered according to a batch of pattern embroidering data which include a plurality of component data sets for embroidering the individual components of the embroidery pattern, respectively. Each component data set consists of at least one element data set, each of which represents an element of the component. The term "element" is defined as an elemental embroidery area that can be continuously embroidered using the same thread. The elemental embroidery area may be either a single enclosed area, or alternatively two or more enclosed areas which are continuously embroidered with the same thread such that the embroidered separate enclosed areas are connected with a jumping or bridging stitch or stitches.
In the embroidering data memory provided in the embroidering data processing apparatus, the component data sets are stored in the predetermined storing order. In principle, this order is an order in which the component data sets are entered or selected by an operator of an embroidery sewing machine. However, the order in which the component data sets are stored in the memory may be changed by editing. An embroidery sewing machine equipped with this known embroidering data processing apparatus is operated according to an embroidering control program which is formulated such that the components of the embroidery pattern are embroidered in the above-indicated storing order, in which the component data sets are stored in the memory, and such that the elements of each component are embroidered in an order in which the element data sets are stored in the memory. It is generally desirable that the components of the embroidery pattern be embroidered in the order in which the components are arranged in the embroidered pattern. Usually, therefore, the operator manipulates the processing apparatus so that the component data sets are eventually stored in the memory in the order in which the components are arranged in the embroidery pattern.
Referring to FIG. 13, there is shown an example of an embroidery pattern 300 consisting of three components in the form of hemmed characters "x", "y" and "z", each consisting of a core element 302, 306, 310 embroidered by a red thread, and an outer hemming element 304, 308, 312 subsequently embroidered by a blue thread. In the embroidering data memory, component data sets representative of the components "x", "y" and "z" are stored in this order of description. Each of element data sets representative of the respective elements 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 312 of each component "x", "y" and "z" includes stitching data, and thread designating data indicative of the kind (color) of thread used for embroidering the element in question. The element data sets of each component data set are stored in an order in which the elements are embroidered or sewn.
For instance, the component data set for embroidering the component "x" includes stitching data representative of the core element 302, thread designating data indicative of the red thread used for this core element 302, stitching data representative of the hemming element 304, and thread designating data indicative of the blue thread used for this hemming element 304. The element data sets for the elements 302, 304 are stored in this order so that the core element 302 is first sewn and the hemming element 304 is then sewn. Similarly, the component data sets for embroidering the components "y" and "z" include element data sets for the elements 306, 308, or element data sets for the elements 310, 312. The element data set for the core element 306, 310 to be embroidered by the red thread, and the element data set for the hemming element 308, 312 to be embroidered by the blue thread are stored in this order. Therefore, the elements 302, 304, 306, 308, 310 and 312 are embroidered in this order of description, and the color of the thread designated by the thread designating data changes in the order of "red", "blue", "red", "blue", "red" and "blue". When the embroidery pattern 300 of FIG. 13 is embroidered according to the pattern embroidering data formulated as described above, the embroidery sewing operation requires the thread to be changed five times.
Referring next to FIG. 6, there are shown elements 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112 of an embroidery pattern 100 which are embroidered in the order which will be described.
Like the component data sets of the embroidery pattern 300 described above, component data sets for embroidering components "x", "y" and "z" of the present embroidery pattern 100 are stored in the order of description. For the components "x" and "z", the elements 102, 104 to be embroidered by a red thread are embroidered before the elements 106, 108 to be embroidered by a blue thread. For the component "y", however, the element 110 to be embroidered by the blue thread is embroidered before the element 112 embroidered by the red thread. Therefore, the elements of the embroidery pattern 100 are embroidered in the order of 102, 106, 110, 112, 104 and 108, and the color of the thread designated by the thread designating data changes in the order of "red", "blue", "blue", "red", "red" and "blue". In this case, the embroidery sewing operation to form the embroidery pattern 100 of FIG. 6 requires the thread to be changed three times.
To change the thread, an embroidery sewing machine is stopped to cut the thread and position a needle bar support device and the related components to bring the needle bar corresponding to the new thread into position. The procedure to change the thread is time-consuming. Described in detail, the needle bar support device carries a plurality of needle bars to which respective needles are attached. When the thread is changed from one to another, the needle bar having the needle through which the thread to be used next is inserted should be brought to the operating position by moving the needle bar support device. The efficiency of the embroidery sewing machine is lowered with an increase in the required number of changes of the threads.
In view of the above drawback, there is proposed an embroidering data processing apparatus equipped with a sewing order determining device for determining the sewing order such that all elements of an embroidery pattern that are embroidered by the same thread are sewn continuously. In the embroidery sewing machine with this sewing order determining device of "continuous same-thread embroidering type", the core elements 302, 306, 310 of the embroidery pattern 300 of FIG. 13 are continuously embroidered with the red thread, and then the hemming elements 304, 308, 312 are continuously embroidered with the blue thread. In this case, the embroidering operation requires only a single thread change, and can be performed with improved efficiency.
In some cases, however, the sewing order determined by the sewing order determining device of the "continuous same-thread embroidering type" is not suitable. That is, this type of sewing order determining device permits intended reproduction of the embroidery pattern 300 whose original pattern embroidering data are formulated such that the element 302, 306, 310 to be embroidered by the red thread is sewn before the element 304, 308, 312 to be embroidered by the blue thread, in all of the components "x", "y" and "z". However, this sewing order determining device does not permit the intended reproduction of the embroidery pattern 100 whose original pattern embroidering data are formulated such that the elements 102, 104 of the components "x" and "z" are embroidered by the red thread before the elements 106, 108 of the same components "x" and "z" to be embroidered by the blue thread, while on the other hand the element 110 of the component "y" is embroidered by the blue thread before the element 112 of the same component "y" to be embroidered by the red thread. In the component "y" of the embroidery pattern 100, the element 110 should be first embroidered by the blue thread so that the red thread of the subsequently embroidered element 112 overlies the previously embroidered blue thread in an overlapping portion 114 of the two elements 110, 112, as indicated in FIG. 6. If the sewing order of the elements 110, 112 of the component "y" was determined by the sewing order determining device of the continuous same-thread embroidering type, namely, if the element 112 was embroidered by the red thread before embroidering of the element 110 by the blue thread, the blue thread of the subsequently embroidered element 110 would overlie the red thread as indicated in FIG. 14.
It is also noted that jumping stitches having a comparatively large length are not desirable. The jumping stitches are stitches which extend between two different elements or components and which are formed when these elements or components are embroidered by the same thread. The length of the jumping stitches between the elements of the same component is generally small. Therefore, where the elements of one component are embroidered before the elements of any other component, the jumping stitches tend to have a short length. Where an embroidery pattern is embroidered according to pattern embroidering data processed by the sewing order determining device of the above-indicated continuous same-thread embroidering type, the length of the jumping stitches tends to be comparatively large. If this sewing order determining device is applied to the embroidery pattern 300 of FIG. 13 wherein the elements 304, 312 of the components "x" and "z" are embroidered by a blue thread while the element 308 of the component "y" is embroidered by a yellow thread, a jumping stitch of the blue thread from the element 304 to the element 310 has a comparatively large length. The required length of the thread increases with the length of such jumping stitches, and the efficiency of the embroidering operation is lowered with an increase in the number of the jumping stitches.